The Obama administration wants to force a wide range of large financial institutions to hold more capital as part of a sweeping regulatory overhaul that Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, yesterday called the “new rules of the game”.

Mr Geithner told Congress that the US needed a fresh approach to regulating risk that identified problems across the financial system as a whole if it were to prevent a repeat of the current financial crisis.

The heaviest demands would be placed on institutions deemed to be systemically important – ranging from large banks to insurance companies, financial groups such GE Capital and, potentially, hedge funds of sufficient size. But regulations would also be tightened for an even broader range of institutions and products, including over-the-counter derivatives.